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Title: Hole in the Heart: Bringing Up Beth
Author: Henny Beaumont
Illustrator: Henny Beaumont
Primary Health Topic: Down Syndrome
Secondary Health Topic(s): Caregiving, Cardiac Health
Special Considerations: N/A
Publication Date: June 9, 2016
Publisher: Myriad Editions/Penn State University Press
ISBN: 9780271077406
GM Review: N/A
Annotation: Hole in the Heart is a graphic memoir spanning more than a decade covering creator Henny Beaumont’s experiences as mother to daughter Beth, born with Down’s Syndrome. Beaumont is unflinchingly honest in depicting her thoughts – all her worries and stresses, all her love and care, all her frustration – as well as showing the failures of society to treat people with Down’s with even a modicum of respect. The title is taken from Beth’s need for open heart surgery as an infant to correct a hole in her heart, a common problem caused by Down’s Syndrome. Throughout the book, the reader sees struggles for agency, fights for empathy and equitable treatment both in medicine and education, and is lucky enough to share in the joy of bringing up Beth.
Annotated By: Matthew Noe